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Crack Comics Vol 1 10
, a square-rigged three-masted sailing ship, glides into the harbor. Men scatter in every direction, abandoning the area. Four hooded men come ashore in a motorboat, from “the feared black devil” of a ship, and are very annoyed at finding the wharves and taverns deserted. Tracking them across the rooftops is Tom Hallaway, alias the Spider, who is puzzled that the Falcon has allowed any of its crew to reach shore alive, until he catches up to them, in the act of dragging away an unconscious seaman. They are a press gang, here to abduct some new crewmen, and one of them packs a tommy gun, which holds the Spider at bay just long enough for them to reach their boat and get going, with their captured man. The Spider dives into the harbor and swims under water to the stern of the Falcon, climbs aboard, knocks out one sailor, and snoops around. He finds the cargo hold to be stuffed with timber, for flotation, and based on this he deduces that the ship is a raider. Two uniformed sailors drag the newly-kidnapped man into the hold and toss him into a cargo space, with at least two other men inside, then the Spider attacks, and bad guys are quickly punched unconscious. Spider then races to the upper decks, finds the captain, and shoots his hat off his head with a Spider Seal arrow, which the panicking captain recognizes. He shoots wildly in the Spider’s direction, then his hand is pinned to a mast by a blazing Spider Seal arrow. There’s more fighting and swinging and rope-cutting, and one of the bad guys definitely does get shot in the heart with an arrow, and at least three guys are caught and strangled in a special weapon of the Spider’s, (a baseball-sized device that explodes itself into a wide web, then tightens itself down to a much smaller size). While they’re dying and the freed prisoners are taking over the ship, Hallaway alias the Spider swims quietly away. | StoryTitle9 = Madam Fatal: "Madam Fatal Meets the Jester" | Synopsis9 = The Jester is on a crime spree, but someone else is also impersonating him, and wants to pin a kidnapping and a "secret formula" robbery on him too. Madam Fatal becomes involved when he is caught snooping around the kidnapper's hideout. Suddenly, the real Jester shows up for the rescue, and to clear his name from the kidnapping (turns out it is his father who was taken hostage). Madam Fatal and the Jester take on the thugs and when the dust settles, he lets the Jester go, even though he is wanted by the police for his earlier crimes. The kidnapped professor never realizes that it was his own son who rescued him. | StoryTitle10 = The Clock: "The False Clock" | Synopsis10 = Framed for a series of ten murders (and counting), with a $50,000 price on his head, the Clock actually kills himself, in order to have a near-death experience and communicate with one of the victims (Raps Tinney), in order to learn the identity of the killer (Scat Bison). He directs Pug to electrocute him with DC power, wait two minutes, then revive him with AC. This works, and the Clock arranges for the police to be present when he confronts Bison, who ends up arrested. | Appearing1 = Featured Characters: * Supporting Characters: * Antagonists: * Other Characters: * Nickolas Gido Locations: * Items: * Vehicles: * | Appearing4 = Featured Characters: * Supporting Characters: * Antagonists: * * ** Major Von Rubitch Other Characters: * Locations: * Items: * Vehicles: * | Appearing6 = Featured Characters: * Antagonists: * The captain and crew of the ship Falcon Other Characters: * Locations: * New York Harbor Items: * The Spider's "Spider Seal"-tipped arrows * The Spider’s throwable net weapon Vehicles: * the Falcon (3-masted square-rigged sailing ship) | Appearing9 = Featured Characters: * Supporting Characters: * Antagonists: * * Ratney * Paxton Other Characters: * Professor Mason * Rufus Vern Locations: * Items: * Vehicles: * | Appearing610 = Featured Characters: * Supporting Characters: * Pat "Pug" Brady Antagonists: * Scat Bison Other Characters: * Raps Tinney Locations: * Items: * Vehicles: * | Writer8_1 = Fred Guardineer | Penciler8_1 = Fred Guardineer | Inker8_1 = Fred Guardineer | StoryTitle8 = Tor: "Amazonia's Fifth Column | Synopsis8 = | Appearing8 = Featured Characters: * Supporting Characters: * Antagonists: * Maria De S * Axis spies Other Characters: * Locations: * Items: * Vehicles: * | StoryTitle2 = Space Legion: "Draco's Mechanical Invasion Fleet" | Synopsis2 = | Writer2_1 = Vernon Henkel | Penciler2_1 = Vernon Henkel | Inker2_1 = Vernon Henkel | Appearing2 = Featured Characters: * Supporting Characters: * Space Legion Antagonists: * Draco Other Characters: * Ray Crosby * Elaine Wadsworth Locations: * Items: * Vehicles: * | StoryTitle7 = Ned Brant | Synopsis7 = (newspaper strip reprints) | Writer7_1 = Bob Zuppke | Penciler7_1 = R.W. Depew | Inker7_1 = R.W. Depew | Appearing7 = Featured Characters: * Ned Brant | StoryTitle5 = Jane Arden // Lena Pry | Synopsis5 = (newspaper strip reprints) | Writer5_1 = Monte Barrett | Penciler5_1 = Russell E. Ross | Inker5_1 = Russell E. Ross | Appearing5 = Featured Characters: * Jane Arden (across top halves of pages) * Lena Pry (across bottom halves of pages) | Writer3_1 = Harry Francis Campbell | Penciler3_1 = Henry Weston Taylor | Inker3_1 = Henry Weston Taylor | StoryTitle3 = Wizard Wells: "Super Power Slip-Up" | Synopsis3 = | Appearing3 = Featured Characters: * Supporting Characters: * Tug Antagonists: * Jared Mota Other Characters: * Smythe Locations: * Items: * Vehicles: * | Notes = * Alias, the Spider: Tom Hallaway's body count is now > 13. * The Clock's long-time habit of leaving calling cards and witty notes at crime scenes and on arrested suspects has backfired on him thrice before , and now does so again as a fourth copycat has some fake "Clock" calling cards printed up. At least this one went to the trouble of renting a tuxedo and making a facemask. * Madam Fatal: In Quality Comics, Jester (Robert Mason) and Jester (Charles Lane) are two different characters. * Also featured in this issue of Crack Comics were: ** , by Bernard Dibble ** Slap Happy Pappy, by Jack Cole ** Off The Record, by Ed Reed ** Rube Goldberg's Side Show, by Rube Goldberg ** Snappy, by Arthur Beeman | Trivia = | Recommended = | Links = * Crack Comics #10 Feb 1941, entire issue }}